Hello,
My husband (Sweden) and I (US citizen) have gotten our I130 approved and have a case open with the NVC, paid fees, and we are now in the stage of uploading I864 and civil documents.
Due to a situation, my husband really needs to be able to visit the US (he has ESTA) in the May-June timeframe. He would stay max 1 month and return. We do not need him to have his visa/make the big move then.
1) We are thinking about waiting at the NVC stage, and not submitting documents until early May (right before he leaves). We highly doubt an interview would be scheduled within 1 month, so he would visit the US and come back to Sweden before the interview takes place. Obviously, the big negative here is that we are intentionally adding 4-5 months to our overall timeline.
2) The other option is to submit documents ASAP, and hope for an interview notice + interview date that falls in early April so that he could safely have his visa approved well before May-June. With the particular embassy this could be a possibility. The negative here is the huge anxiety waiting for the interview date, and having to reschedule it if it falls in May-June, along with medical exam scheduling to avoid that time as well, etc. Another issue is that if he did pass his interview but there was some 1 month delay with getting his actual visa and passport back in hand, he would not be able to travel to the US at all. (at that stage, are you still considered a tourist...?)
I have also heard about some potential differences in how easy it is to visit the US in certain stages of the process, such as the later in the process you are, the more scrutiny you will be under.
Can anyone please share their thoughts on what the safest option would be to maximize the possibility of him being in the US in May-June?
Is it too conservative of us to intentionally delay submitting?
